Director of Externships and Placement-Based Learning

Columbia University; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious educational institution in New York is seeking a dynamic Director of Externships and Placement-Based Learning. This key leadership position involves overseeing the externship program, cultivating relationships, and supporting students. The ideal candidate holds a Juris Doctor degree and has 5-7 years of legal experience. This full-time position offers a salary range of $150,000 - $160,000.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5-7 years of legal experience.
• Teaching experience and/or mentoring experience with law students or lawyers strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of experiential learning pedagogy.

Responsibilities

• Manage and develop all aspects of a robust externship program.
• Cultivate relationships with external placement sites.
• Support students in arranging independent externships.

Skills

Program administration

Relationship management

Strong analytical skills

Teaching and training

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree

Job description

Director of Externships and Placement-Based Learning

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• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $150,000 - $160,000
  
  

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

The Director of Externships is a key leadership position responsible for the strategic development, oversight, and administration of Columbia Law School's externship program. We seek a dynamic and creative administrator with experience in higher education or in legal services organizations to ensure that Columbia Law School’s externships and other placement-based learning opportunities are of consistently high quality, further the Law School’s strategic vision, and respond to student interests and community needs. Pending faculty approval, the incumbent may be asked to teach related courses as needed.

The Law School currently offers an extensive program of externships and placement-based learning opportunities designed to help students become knowledgeable, skilled, ethical, and reflective practitioners. Students enrolled in externships have the opportunity to explore the role of lawyers in a variety of settings, identify their own professional goals, and learn the values and competencies that are needed in modern legal practice through well-supervised, hands-on work at public and private sector organizations and in a related seminar. In addition to the externships offered through the program, CLS also permits students to find independent externships that must be paired with a faculty tutorial. The successful candidate will report to the Vice Dean for Experiential Education.

Responsibilities

• Managing and further developing all aspects of a robust, high-quality externship program that furthers Columbia’s pedagogical goals and meets the standards of the ABA, university policies, and other regulatory bodies:
• Cultivating and maintaining relationships with diverse external placement sites across various legal sectors (e.g., judicial chambers, government agencies, non-profit organizations, corporate legal departments).
• Recruiting excellent seminar teachers and placement supervisors;
• Developing training programs and materials, and conducting workshops to support externship seminar teachers and placement supervisors;
• Regularly evaluating externship seminars and placements, including through classroom observation and site visits;
• In consultation with the Dean and the Vice Dean for Experiential Education, developing new externship opportunities;
• Assisting faculty members who want to explore the development of a placement component for their courses, and fostering connections with practitioners in the public interest, government, and private sectors who might be good partners in developing and implementing a placement component.
• Advising students about externship opportunities, counseling them about the externships most likely to meet their goals, and helping them to resolve and learn from any problems that arise in the course of their externships;
• Advising and supporting students and identifying resources to help students arrange independent externships and secure faculty supervisors;
• Integrating LLMs into the externship program and coordinating with the Office of Graduate Programs on international student rules and other relevant concerns;
• Coordinating with Registration Services and Student Services on enrollment and registration matters;
• Assisting Lecturers in securing Teaching Assistants for their externship seminars;
• Maintaining accurate records and databases related to externship placements, students, and sites.
• Preparing reports on program activities, outcomes, and compliance for internal and external stakeholders.
• Conducting site visits to externship placements as necessary to ensure quality and compliance.
• Continuously evaluating and improving the externship program's effectiveness, student learning outcomes, and overall student experience.
• Staying informed about best practices in experiential legal education and legal employment trends.
• Coordinating with Clinical faculty and staff, the Managing Director of Clinics, the Director of Legal Writing and Moot Court Programs, and instructors of other experiential offerings on recruiting, application, and admission for experiential programs.
• As part of the law school’s experiential team, working closely and collaborating with the Vice Dean for Experiential Education, the Managing Director of Clinics, the Director of Legal Writing and Moot Court Programs, the clinical faculty, and other instructors of experiential offerings to integrate externship experiences with academic learning and to offer a varied curriculum that meets the students’ needs for development of professional role and lawyering skills, and that responds to student demand.;
• Engaging in the life of the Law School by serving on committees and task forces related to externships, participating in meetings of experiential faculty, etc.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

Performing additional responsibilities as required.

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an ABA-accredited law school required. A minimum of 5-7 years of legal experience. Teaching experience and/or mentoring experience with law students or lawyers strongly preferred.
• Available for limited travel and evening and weekend work as required.
• Demonstrated experience in program administration, development, or management, ideally within a higher education or legal services setting.
• Strong understanding of experiential learning pedagogy and ABA standards for legal education.
• Must be able to work with diverse constituencies and support an inclusive work environment.
  
  

Required Competencies:

• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively within a complex organization.
• Strong skills as a teacher/trainer, counselor, manager, and supervisor.
• Deep and broad relationships with legal institutions, preferably in New York City, and demonstrated ability to cultivate them.
• Strong analytical skills and capacity.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with diverse audiences.
• Flexibility, ability, and willingness to work simultaneously on a wide range of tasks and projects.
• High level of organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities effectively with a sensitivity to deadlines.
• Commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students.
• Must be able to work with diverse constituencies and support an inclusive work environment.
  
  

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.

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